(Photo: Genevieve Girling)

Born into an upper middle-class family in 1858, Ethyl Smyth went on to fashion a successful career as a composer, which was certainly no easy feat given the many obstacles facing women wishing to pursue almost any career in Victorian England; even her own father opposed her choice. Yet, she was able to push through the many barriers that stood in her way and achieve substantial success in the process. Smyth produced an extensive body of work, including a well-received “Mass in D” and six operas, of which the third, “The Wreckers,” is considered by some commentators to be the most important English opera during the period between Purcell and Britten. Her music was played in England’s most prestigious venues, including the Royal Albert Hall and Covent Garden, and also met with success in Europe and the USA. In 1903, her opera “Der Wald” became the only opera by a female composer to be staged by the New York Metropolitan until Kaija Saariaho’s “L’Amour de Loin” in 2016.

Smyth was also a strong supporter of the Suffragette movement and became a close friend of its leader, Emmeline Pankhurst. She even gave up composing for two years in order to devote her energies to the cause, and she spent two months in prison for her activities. Recuperating in Egypt, she turned her attentions to writing “The Boatswain’s Mate,” a comedy opera based on a story by W.W. Jacobs. Although it was met with some initial success following its premiere in 1916, it fell out of favor following the Second World War. Recently, however, it has once again attracted some interest, including a recording and a run of performances at this summer’s Buxton International Festival.

An Amusing Light Work with the Occasional Laugh

Comedy operas tend to fall into two categories. Firstly, there are those that possess the rare quality of being genuinely funny and have the potential to make the audience laugh out loud, as exemplified by the experts in the genre, Rossini and Donizetti. Then there are those that, although classified as comedies, do little more than amuse; at best, they may raise an occasional smile but of actual laughter, there is very little. Unfortunately, Smyth’s “The Boatswain’s Mate” falls squarely into the second.

The mildly amusing plot focuses on the independently minded widow, Mrs. Waters, the landlady of The Beehive pub, whom Mr. Benn has set his sights on marrying. Being a weak male specimen, she, of course, has no interest in such an arrangement. The more he pressures her, the more she resists. Looking after the pub one day while Mrs. Waters is in town, an ex-soldier called Travers comes in for a drink, whom Mr. Benn convinces to break into the pub that night, so that he will be able to rush in and rescue her, and, of course, she will be so grateful that she will marry him. Obviously, the plan fails. Mrs. Waters can look after herself.

She takes a gun and confronts Travers, who confesses everything. She then decides to teach Mr. Benn a lesson. She fires her gun and Mr. Benn runs in, only to find Travers lying on the floor, pretending to be dead. In a state of panic, he runs out and fetches a passing policeman, who enters only to find Travers is very much alive. Travers and Mrs. Waters are then left alone in the bar, where he suggests that he would not mind running a pub. Mr. Waters is too wily and independent to fall for that, but it does get her thinking.

It is certainly a plot with plenty of potential for comedy, and there were a few instances when muted chuckles from the audience could be heard, but it did not exactly have the audience rolling in the aisles. Smyth, who credited herself with the libretto, did a fine job of setting up the situations but did not go on to fully exploit them. The scene in the pub, for example, in which Travers is trying to hide from the gun-toting Mrs. Waters, who eventually locks him in a cupboard, offered far more comedic potential than is actually delivered. Compared to a similar situation in Act two of Verdi’s “Falstaff,” this was very tame indeed.

The director, Nick Bond, did a fairly good job of keeping the audience amused, presenting the piece for what it is, without feeling the need to alter the setting, add a more sophisticated interpretation, or uncover hidden themes, such as relating the character of Mrs. Waters to Emmeline Pankhurst, on whom she was supposedly based. The protagonists were given strongly defined characters closely related to the stereotype in an effort to facilitate the comedy, but, ultimately, the text was not strong enough.

Elliott Squire’s single-set staging was neatly arranged to facilitate the movement of the cast and successfully conjured up the impression of the pub interior with an outside garden. The costumes for the men were perfectly crafted to reinforce their personalities and status. In the case of Mr. Benn, dressed in a ridiculous blue jumper covered with boats, it was definitely that of a delta male, whereas Travers, costumed in a disheveled T-shirt, shorts and big boots, gave the impression of a transient male with few prospects. Mrs. Waters, however, even in her dressing gown, always looked as if she were the boss.

Smyth’s Score Does Not Fully Convince

Smyth trained in Leipzig, and her compositions exhibit influences of the German late Romantic tradition. However, the music for “The Boatswain’s Mate” is of a lighter nature, more akin to the operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. It is tuneful, even using folk-like melodies, and as such, it is an easily accessible work, which, no doubt, helped it become her most popular opera during her lifetime. However, its musical structure can be problematic. The first part is composed as set numbers separated by spoken dialogue and facilitates the comedy, whereas the second part is sung throughout, giving it a heavier, more serious feel, to the extent that the two parts do not sit comfortably alongside each other.

This production used a small ensemble consisting of its director, Rebecca Warren, on piano, Matthew Chin on violin and Harvey Kelly on cello. They were positioned at the back of the stage, which, for some reason, did not look at all out of place. The substantially reduced musical forces had both positive and negative effects; whilst it undoubtedly worked against some of the dramatic incidents and compromised the textures and coloring of the piece, it produced a better balance between the opera’s two disparate parts, uniting them with a more transparent, lighter sound that successfully drew attention away from structural difference.

Warren led the trio in an animated, energetic performance that successfully captured the ease of the melodies and the light-hearted nature of the drama.

Findon Dominates as the No-nonsense Mrs. Waters

Soprano Elizabeth Findon produced a compelling portrait of Mrs. Waters, characterizing her as a confident, independent-minded, no-nonsense woman who could handle running a public house without the need for a man to sort out its problems. Her friendly swagger allowed her to make light of difficult customers, as when she cleared out a group of young men on a night out with only a stern word or two. Yet she was also able to capture the sentimental side of Mrs. Waters. In her aria “What if I were young again,” she etched a reflective yearning into her voice, and again in the finale, she dances and muses on summer and love.

Findon’s singing was energetic, expressive and neatly tailored to fit her character. She possesses pleasing timbre, and her voice opens up brightly in the upper register, however, when put under pressure it did sound a little hard-edged. Although her passaggio lacked smoothness on occasions, the voice certainly displayed plenty of agility. Overall, it was a fine performance.

Tenor Joshua Baxter characterized Mr. Benn as a particularly weak and pathetic individual, a pompous, cowardly wimp who nevertheless thought very highly of himself. His singing was secure and resonant with a pleasing tone, which he used intelligently to give the melodies a light, fresh sound.

Baritone Theo Perry produced a nuanced reading of Ned Travers. While he was not exactly a likable character, Perry highlighted Travers’ carefree attitude and youthful spirit, which did not go completely unnoticed by Mrs. Waters. His singing displayed ability in developing the vocal line with subtle dynamic and emotional inflections to promote expressivity and develop characterization. The warm tone of his voice also went some way to convincing the listener that Travers was not so bad a chap after all.

Bass-baritone Richard Woodall produced an amusing cameo in the role of the Policeman who entered the pub to the sound of Beethoven’s fifth symphony.

Mezzo-soprano Rebecca Anderson made a fine impression in the small role of Mary Ann, who worked at The Beehive.

Overall, this is not an opera that I imagine anyone would really want to watch twice, but it is not without merit. Some of Smyth’s melodies are quite pleasing. The quartet from Part two, “It must have been the drink or love,” for the three principals plus the Policeman was particularly pleasing, as was the duet, “When the sun is setting,” between Travers and Mrs. Waters as they say goodbye. True, the narrative never rises above the predictable, and the comedy is weak, but it nevertheless amuses. It was not a bad way of spending 90 minutes.